Peptides for Weight Loss: Every One Sold, Ranked by Human Evidence

The best peptides for weight loss are the GLP‑1 drugs, and the gap between them and everything else is enormous. Semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) are FDA-approved for weight and were tested in trials of about 2,000 and 2,500 adults, who lost an average of 14.9% and up to 20.9% of their body weight.^[2][3] No other peptide sold for weight loss has a trial like that. Tesamorelin’s own label says it is not indicated for weight loss.^[9] AOD-9604 was tested in 536 people and failed.^[11] MOTS-c, sermorelin, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and BPC-157 have no weight-loss trial in people at all. The HHS policy of October 28, 2026 covers licensed pharmacies that compound MOTS-c and BPC-157 under conditions, but it approved neither of them.^[1]

Every weight-loss peptide, ranked by human evidence

Two things stand out in that table. Every product in it with a large, positive weight-loss trial works on the GLP‑1 receptor, alone or with partner hormones. And the two peptides HHS opened to compounding in October 2026, MOTS-c and BPC-157, sit near the bottom, because nobody has yet tested either one for weight in people. For a wider view of what clinic menus carry, see the peptide menu, sorted by human trials.

The GLP-1 drugs: the only peptides with strong weight-loss evidence

Semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide are peptides, and each is approved for losing excess weight and keeping it off over the long term in adults who have obesity, or overweight together with a weight-related condition.^[4][5][6] Their trials ran for more than a year, enrolled thousands of people and compared the drug against placebo. That is the standard every other row on this page is measured against. (For the chemistry of why these count as peptides, see are GLP-1 drugs peptides?)

Retatrutide, a Lilly drug that acts on GLP‑1, GIP and glucagon receptors, produced weight losses of up to 25.0% over 80 weeks in a phase 3 trial published in September 2026.^[8] It is still unapproved, so anything sold as retatrutide today has no legal source. One other peptide carries a weight indication, setmelanotide (Imcivree), but only for obesity from hypothalamic damage, Bardet-Biedl syndrome, or specific gene defects confirmed by testing.^[7] For the full list of approved peptide drugs, see FDA-approved peptides.

Tesamorelin: approved for belly fat in HIV, not for weight

Tesamorelin is the peptide most often sold as a “fat loss” option outside the GLP‑1 class, and it is an approved drug. Its approval is narrow. The Egrifta WR label limits it to reducing excess belly fat in adults with HIV who have lipodystrophy, and the same section of the label adds that it “is not indicated for weight loss management as it has a weight neutral effect.”^[9]

The trial behind that wording gave 412 people with HIV daily tesamorelin or placebo for 26 weeks. Visceral fat, the fat packed around the organs, fell 15.2% on the drug and rose 5.0% on placebo.^[10] The label calls its effect on weight neutral. There is no published trial of tesamorelin in people without HIV who want to lose weight. Our tesamorelin evidence page covers the label and the trials in full.

AOD-9604: tested for obesity, and it failed

AOD-9604 is a fragment of human growth hormone that its Australian developer took into obesity trials. The largest enrolled 536 adults with obesity for 24 weeks, with diet and exercise support. FDA’s 2024 review found “not a significant difference in the primary endpoint of weight loss between placebo and AOD-9604,” and the company announced in February 2007 that development for obesity was terminated.^[11] Across the smaller studies, FDA wrote that AOD-9604 mostly “failed to show benefit for weight reduction when compared to placebo.”^[11]

In December 2024, FDA’s compounding advisory committee voted 12 to 0 against adding it to the list of ingredients pharmacies may compound with.^[12] It is not in the October 2026 HHS policy either.^[1] The full trial history is on our AOD-9604 evidence page.

MOTS-c: mouse data and one safety study of an analog

MOTS-c is a short peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA. Its weight-loss reputation comes from a 2015 study in which injections in mice prevented insulin resistance and diet-induced obesity.^[13] No published study has given MOTS-c to people and measured weight.

The human data so far come from CB4211, a modified version, tested in a phase 1 study of 88 people whose main outcomes were safety measures.^[14] No study of MOTS-c itself in people has published weight results.

MOTS-c is one of the six peptides in the October 28, 2026 HHS policy, for injection only. HHS based its decision partly on safety: an analog trial with no serious adverse events, and rodent studies showing “metabolic benefit without systemic toxicity.”^[1] Nothing in the policy claims MOTS-c causes weight loss in people. See what the MOTS-c evidence shows and, for side effects and the doses used in studies, MOTS-c dosage and side effects.

Sermorelin, CJC-1295 and ipamorelin: the growth hormone route

These three are sold on the idea that more growth hormone means less fat. Each one does raise growth hormone. None has been shown to cause weight loss.

• Sermorelin was approved in 1990 as Geref, which is now listed as discontinued.^[15] It was never tested as a weight-loss drug. In a 1997 trial, 19 adults aged 55 to 71 injected a close analog nightly for 16 weeks; growth hormone rose, and the authors reported that “blood pressure and body weight were unaffected.”^[16] More on our sermorelin page.
• CJC-1295 raised growth hormone 2- to 10-fold for six days or more after a single injection in healthy adults.^[17] Its developer registered a phase 2 trial in people with HIV and visceral obesity; the record shows it was terminated, and no results were posted.^[18] FDA has linked CJC-1295 to “increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reaction,” and its advisers voted against listing any form of it for compounding (13 to 0 for the free base, 12 to 1 for the acetate).^[20][12]
• Ipamorelin was tested in a randomized trial of 114 patients recovering from bowel surgery, where it did not significantly shorten the time to a tolerated meal.^[19] FDA cites a study in which serious adverse events, including death, followed intravenous use.^[20] There is no weight trial. See the CJC-1295 and ipamorelin stack page.

5-amino-1MQ: sold beside peptides, studied only in mice

5-amino-1MQ is a small molecule that blocks an enzyme called NNMT. In mice made obese on a high-fat diet, an NNMT blocker from this research group reduced body weight and white fat without changing how much the mice ate.^[21] No study in people has been published, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists none. Our 5-amino-1MQ evidence page covers the mouse work and FDA’s action against a compounder that used it.

BPC-157: no weight data at all

BPC-157 turns up in weight-loss bundles, usually pitched for gut comfort alongside a GLP‑1. No published trial has measured what it does to body weight. It is covered by the HHS policy for injection, oral and topical forms, which says nothing about weight.^[1] For what is known about its risks, see BPC-157 side effects. For combining any of these with semaglutide or tirzepatide, see peptides alongside a GLP-1.

What the October 28, 2026 HHS policy means for weight loss

The policy says HHS will not take enforcement action against state-licensed pharmacies, federal facilities or licensed physicians that compound six peptides (BPC-157, Epitalon, KPV, MOTS-c, Semax and TB-500) under 503A, until FDA settles each one by rulemaking.^[1] Only two of the six, MOTS-c and BPC-157, are commonly sold for weight loss. The conditions are strict. Each product must contain a single active ingredient, so blended “fat loss stacks” fall outside it, and each needs a patient-specific prescription.

HHS states plainly that “compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, which means FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness, or quality before they are marketed.”^[1] AOD-9604, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, sermorelin and 5-amino-1MQ are not on the policy’s list. Our guide to the HHS peptide policy covers every condition, and what is peptide therapy? explains how approved, compounded and research-use-only peptides differ.

“EGRIFTA WR is not indicated for weight loss management as it has a weight neutral effect.”

— EGRIFTA WR prescribing information, section 1

Questions to ask about a peptide weight-loss offer

• Is the product FDA-approved for weight, or approved for something else, or not approved at all? The table above sorts every common one.
• What is the largest trial in people, and did it measure body weight? Mouse studies, hormone levels and visceral fat scans are not weight-loss results.
• If it is compounded, is it a single ingredient from a 503A pharmacy on a prescription written for you? Blends and research-use-only vials are outside the HHS policy.
• If the clinic also sells a GLP‑1, why is the add-on needed? No trial has tested any of these peptides together with semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Clinics that sell these products are compared on our peptide hub, which lists each profile with what it costs and who sells it.